MSU police chief charged with DUI, placed on administrative leave

Mississippi State University Police Chief Georgia Lindley was placed on administrative leave with pay after she was charged with driving under the influence Thursday.

In a prepared statement, Bill Kibler, MSU Vice President for Student Affairs, confirmed the administrative move and said the department is now under the direction of Assistant Chief Kenneth Spencer until an investigation into the charges are complete.

Starkville Police Department Capt. Frank Nichols confirmed Lindley was charged with DUI after officers received a call from a concerned citizen. He said Lindley bonded out of custody after paperwork on the arrest was completed.

Nichols would not confirm where the arrest was made or if any alcohol tests were administered.

Lindley's driving record was recently brought into the public spotlight after she hit a parked car on Nov. 16 in front of the church near the intersection of Lampkin and Meigs streets.

According to the accident report obtained by The Dispatch, Lindley was driving a black Jeep Laredo west on Lampkin Street before the Alabama-MSU football game when she sideswiped a parked Cadillac CTS sedan belonging to a Starkville resident and continued home.

Two witnesses, both of whom are Ackerman residents, observed the accident, the report stated. One of the witnesses who trailed the Jeep told officers the vehicle drifted in and out of its lane.

No alcohol or drug tests were administered following the accident.

On Nov. 26, SPD Chief David Lindley, Georgia's husband, tendered his resignation, effective Dec. 31, after the board of aldermen placed him on administrative leave and barred from communicating with his subordinates. The board ordered David Lindley to clean out his desk under Interim Chief John Outlaw's watch and released his service revolver and uniform.

David Lindley remains prohibited from speaking to SPD employees or entering the facility.

Aldermen also approved disciplinary action against SPD Master Sgt. Shawn Word earlier this month. Although the board did not disclose the nature of the action or what led to it, Word was listed as the investigating officer on the uniform crash report for Georgia Lindley's November wreck.

Thursday's DUI was a separate incident.

The contents of this article have been modified since its original posting.

Carl Smith covers Starkville and Oktibbeha County for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter @StarkDispatch